(Bloomberg) -- Copper rebounded from Wednesday’s slump, pulled up by expectations that demand would remain resilient in the face of possible tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve and China’s stepped-up efforts to jawbone prices lower.

The latest minutes indicated some Fed officials may be open “at some point” to discussing adjustments to the pace of massive bond purchases if the U.S. economy keeps progressing rapidly.

In China, the cabinet expressed concerns Wednesday about the rise in commodities prices for a second week in row, calling for more effort to curb “unreasonable” gains and preventing any impact on consumer prices. The meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also called for a crackdown on speculation and hoarding.

Copper has tumbled from a record high last week amid mounting concerns that commodity-driven inflation will induce global tightening that will dampen the demand outlook. Despite the pullback in prices, major metal producers remain optimistic on demand and prices.

The Chilean government’s copper agency Cochilco lifted its 2021 average price projection to $4.30 a pound, saying a tight market and investor flows could send the metal to new all-time highs in the short term. Alcoa Co.’s Chief Executive Roy Harvey said demand for aluminum is “firing on all engines” this year and continues to grow “really, really quickly” in China and the rest of the world.

Copper was 0.8% higher at $10,076.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 11:28 a.m. in Shanghai, following Wednesday’s 3.9% slump, the most since October. Most other metals were higher, with aluminum 0.5% higher, and zinc rising 0.4% to $2,951.

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